Artificial Intelligence Makes Intelligence Community Smarter

At the root of all modern governments is a strong and complex intelligence community that monitors both domestic and foreign information in order to keep its citizens safe. In recent years, the addition of artificial intelligence has increased efficiency of the IC and given many tools to intel analysts to help uncover information that is not immediately apparent to the human eye and reasoning.

The first place artificial intelligence finds a home in the intel community is before agents even step foot through the door. AI plays a strong role in modern-day security, and can be used to great benefit in biometric authentication, especially so when that authentication plays on behavioral characteristics.

In biometrics, artificial intelligence can track changes in users over time, and can even spot over-accuracy, because too much consistency also appears inhuman. This makes AI especially helpful for constant biometric authentication, such as with typing biometrics that persistently monitor keyboard input along the lines of key pressure, accuracy, keystroke speed, hand dominance, etc. AI is also helpful for other forms of behavioral biometrics such as handwriting and voice recognition.

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After agents are permitted entry, artificial intelligence still has a substantial role to play. AI algorithms are used within the intelligence community to analyze huge sources of data that can lead to conclusions regarding future events, imminent attacks, and identify persons of interest.

Artificial intelligence can also be used to analyze audio and video footage in order to predict threats and even analyze past occurrences at high speeds so that agents are not required to sift through quite as much data. In fact, the Pentagon’s Algorithm Warfare Cross-Functional Team are doing just that–designing AI algorithms with the express purpose of analyzing mass amounts of drone-collected video footage.

Especially now as Google has shown the major advantages of using AutoML in order for AIs to build their own AIs with the skill and precision of the world’s top experts, artificial intelligence is going to be a major factor both in times of war and peace.

Threat analysis and prevention via artificially intelligent assistance can save analysts time which not only saves taxpayers money, but also allows intelligence members to respond to situations sooner, perhaps even preventing them before they ever reach public concern.

Of course, there are ethical concerns with using AIs to help make decisions within government agencies. Artificial intelligence has already shown a propensity for bias depending on the ways in which it was trained, and can present habits of racism and sexism, just as humans can. Because many of the ways AIs come to conclusions are largely not readily understood, the “black box” effect, it can be hard to determine the functionality of an AI in a government environment, a place where, traditionally, each step of a decision process must be documented.

Nevertheless, AI is infiltrating nearly every industry and intelligence, law enforcement, and the DoD are no exception. Our artificially intelligent counterparts are impacting our decisions, teaching themselves, and becoming active members in their own creation. At this rate, humans and machines must learn how to interact side by side to the benefit of both.

Are you concerned about AI usage in government? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments below!